A lot of Stephen King is derivative of something else. But it's in the way he writes his stories, the characters he creates, the emotions he plays with... those are the reasons that I look past it.

Take, for instance, The Green Mile. An original story this most certainly is not. Has anyone seen the episode of Amazing Stories starring Patrick Swayze in which he plays an inmate sentenced to death for murder? During a botched prison escape, he is struck by lightning. Afterwards, his touch can heal. The Warden brings his blind daughter in to be healed, which she is, and he then tries to get him a pardon. It doesn't happen, and he's put to death (electric chair, if I'm not mistaken). The big twist ending is that everyone he has healed now has the power to heal as well. Everyone touches his corpse, and he then opens his eyes and sits up looking around in amazement.

Not EXACTLY the same story, but two key elements are there. A man is to be put do death who has the power to heal, and another man in a position to possibly save him has a loved one healed by him.

See, same premise essentially, but tweaked. I shit you not when I say that the Green Mile is FAR superior. Just pointing it out.

Is he? Wow. Does it have anything to do with the damage done to him by the van that hit him?

My favorite King book is The Stand, but for sheer terror value, NONE of them have scared me so badly as The Tommyknockers. I couldn't even look at the cover of that thing after I read it for a good six months. When Locke first found the Hatch on 'Lost', it reminded me of Bobbi Anderson finding the buried spaceship so much that I was waiting to see what the other castaways were going to start to turn into. Heh heh heh...

Among the gossip circulating about the scribe is the rumor that he is going blind. King assures his fans that while he is genetically predisposed to a disease called macular degeneration, which could result in blindness, he is not actually going blind.

Among the gossip circulating about the scribe is the rumor that he is going blind. King assures his fans that while he is genetically predisposed to a disease called macular degeneration, which could result in blindness, he is not actually going blind.

Well I base my statement on an interview he did I saw on PBS from a few years ago wherein he stated he has Macular Degeneration not that he was merely predisposed to it.

You know, itâ€™s hit or miss with the guy, but that is bound to happen when a lot of people stand to make a lot of money by publishing your books; a good editor would look at some of his finished work and say "No. We are not going to press with this."

His editors are greedy, not good. So they will take anything my man throws at the wall. Think Cartman in the movie making biz -

Again, this is not to say I don't read it; I do, and have read everything he has ever published, including Dance Macabre.

Some of it resonates with me so fucking hard that it rattles my fillings, and that more than makes up for the stuff that don't get me high...also, he seems like a guy I would want as a friend, cynical, smart, and understands the value and joy oâ€™ a tumbler of Scotch and a pinch of Columbian marching powder.

unikrunk wrote:also, he seems like a guy I would want as a friend, cynical, smart, and understands the value and joy oâ€™ a tumbler of Scotch and a pinch of Columbian marching powder.

Some people blame his sobriety as the catalyst for the high degree of hit or miss these days. And specifically, some people believe that he hasn't written anything worthwhile since he sobered up. I disagree with all of them.
Some ideas are good, and some aren't. It's as simple as that.

Kaga - I hadn't heard anything about him going blind. The Barnes & Noble link was the first halfway legitimate site that I noticed when I Googled it.
I honestly think that if he were to go blind, that his work would take on a new element of genius (in the most twisted sense). But I don't wish that on the man by any means.

Now that he's "retired" I wonder how much say his editors and publishers have over him anymore. I was really not liking his work over the last couple of years until he decided to finish The Dark Tower and then hang it up. If his semi-retired state allows him to write anything he wants and work at his own pace, it's working like gangbusters. His last few books have been killer, in my opinion.

Anyone here pick up Blaze yet? I might grab it tonight and start into it.....

unikrunk wrote:By no means to I want the man to fall off the wagon - I was just speaking of traits, not things I want to do with the guy.

Maybe if he does go blind he doctor will prescribe pot.... for his blindness. That was a weak attempt at paraphrasing a Simpsons episode from 1997.

But yeah, I completely dig what you're saying. I love his Entertainment Weekly columns and his "What Steve is reading/listening to" bits on his website. The guy has a knack for goofy old-style rock-n-roll, but I have to give him a shitload of credit for staying current musically.
I envy the Lost guys for getting to hang out with him for a day like they did.

The Todd wrote:Now that he's "retired" I wonder how much say his editors and publishers have over him anymore. I was really not liking his work over the last couple of years until he decided to finish The Dark Tower and then hang it up. If his semi-retired state allows him to write anything he wants and work at his own pace, it's working like gangbusters. His last few books have been killer, in my opinion.

Anyone here pick up Blaze yet? I might grab it tonight and start into it.....

Has anyone here read The Colorado Kid? Based on what I heard, The Todd expected not to like it. But I was quite surprised! Like always, he totally nailed the personality of the local Maine folks that are 2 of the 3 main characters. And it WAS a Stephen King story, minus the deviation into weirdness. I could pick 3 or 4 points where he could have taken that story and gone supernatural, creepy, or weird with it. Overall, I thought it was a pleasant change for him.

BBC News.com wrote:Author Stephen King was mistaken for a vandal when he started signing books during an unannounced visit to a shop in Australia, according to local media.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said staff at the Alice Springs book store did not initially realise the writer was autographing his own novels.Bookshop manager Bev Ellis said: "When you see someone writing in one of your books you get a bit toey [nervous]."We immediately ran to the books and lo and behold, there was the signature."Ms Ellis later approached the author at a nearby supermarket and said he was "very nice, charming"."Well, if we knew you were coming we would have baked you a cake," she told the writer.

'Embarrassing'

The prolific author, best known for works such as Carrie, The Shining and Misery, signed six books including his most recent novel, Lisey's Story.Most of the books will be given to local charities, though one was purchased by a customer who was in the store with King.Ms Ellis added that it was common for authors to visit the shop, check if their books are on the shelves and sign some copies."If they're not on the shelves, they'll ask about them. It's embarrassing if we haven't got their work," she said.King's representative in Australia told the media he was unaware the author was in the country.

Has anyone read Lisey's story? Is it any good? I've just read the back cover with some review quotes- and I really think it's interesting to see how seriously the reviewers are treating King now. Much more so than a few years ago, when many were still dismissing him as some kind of tacky horror writer, not worthy of any literary comments.

My mother loves Stephen King and has read basically everything by him that you can buy in a store. She told me that Lisey's Story is one of the best books he's ever written. I have her copy of it, but I just read through Half-Blood Prince, just started Deathly Hallows, need to read the final Dark Tower (STILL!) and also want to finish Rant. Bah. Oh yah, forgot about Knife of Dreams. Which means I need to read the entire series again. But I'll wait for the final WoT book to come out.

Yep - for me too. I'm ready for some more King-storytelling, I think. For a while there, I had a bit of an overdose.

Fawst wrote:My mother loves Stephen King and has read basically everything by him that you can buy in a store. She told me that Lisey's Story is one of the best books he's ever written. I have her copy of it, but I just read through Half-Blood Prince, just started Deathly Hallows, need to read the final Dark Tower (STILL!) and also want to finish Rant. Bah. Oh yah, forgot about Knife of Dreams. Which means I need to read the entire series again. But I'll wait for the final WoT book to come out.

Well - at least you're not running out of stuff to read. Leave the final DT as long as possible- you'll be sorry when it's over. Although I kind of liked the ending though- unlike many I know.

Dee E. Goppstober wrote:Has anyone read Lisey's story? Is it any good? I've just read the back cover with some review quotes- and I really think it's interesting to see how seriously the reviewers are treating King now. Much more so than a few years ago, when many were still dismissing him as some kind of tacky horror writer, not worthy of any literary comments.

Lisey's Story was incredible. I swear, the man found a time machine so he could talk to Stephen King from the 1970s and get some great ideas from him. He's last few books (I still have yet to read the Richard Bachman Blaze) have been top notch from beginning to end. I can't remember such a string of great books from King since he gave up the drugs.

Dee E. Goppstober wrote:Although I kind of liked the ending though- unlike many I know.

The Todd wrote:Lisey's Story was incredible. I swear, the man found a time machine so he could talk to Stephen King from the 1970s and get some great ideas from him. He's last few books (I still have yet to read the Richard Bachman Blaze) have been top notch from beginning to end. I can't remember such a string of great books from King since he gave up the drugs.

Cool. Sounds promising. I'm on it! I guess he must have been liberating for him, to finish the DT -and notice that it didn't have to be his last book ever.

The Todd wrote:

Dee E. Goppstober wrote:Although I kind of liked the ending though- unlike many I know.

I loved the ending to the Dark Tower.

Ooh- I really have to bite my tongue now not to start agreeing with you and spewing spoilers... - but, yeah, wasn't it just the only possible one?

[quote]Besides relaunching MASTERS OF HORROR, Garris has a few movies in the works. These include more projects mining Stephen Kingâ€™s book catalog, where the director has found numerous riches in the past (THE STAND, THE SHINING, etc.). â€œWe have Matt [MASTERS: PELTS] Venne adapting BAG OF BONES as a feature film,â€

[quote]Besides relaunching MASTERS OF HORROR, Garris has a few movies in the works. These include more projects mining Stephen Kingâ€™s book catalog, where the director has found numerous riches in the past (THE STAND, THE SHINING, etc.). â€œWe have Matt [MASTERS: PELTS] Venne adapting BAG OF BONES as a feature film,â€

I'm in the minority here since I think The Stand is the most effective King mini-series made. Could it have been better? Perhaps but for mid 90's broadcast television it was about a good a it could be.

Chairman Kaga wrote:I'm in the minority here since I think The Stand is the most effective King mini-series made. Could it have been better? Perhaps but for mid 90's broadcast television it was about a good a it could be.

Did you actually watch it on tv? Because I once rented it as a movie in a video-store- so maybe I had higher expectations- watching it as a movie. I just remember the entourage and the characters missing the mark compared to my imagination. But in terms of suspense it was reasonably ok, as far as I remember.

Chairman Kaga wrote:I'm in the minority here since I think The Stand is the most effective King mini-series made. Could it have been better? Perhaps but for mid 90's broadcast television it was about a good a it could be.

Did you actually watch it on tv? Because I once rented it as a movie in a video-store- so maybe I had higher expectations- watching it as a movie. I just remember the entourage and the characters missing the mark compared to my imagination. But in terms of suspense it was reasonably ok, as far as I remember.

Haven't read it all, but what I've read is pretty damn good. He has a way of breaking down the writing cycle so its clear and concise without being preachy.

I've read through about 20 books on writing and (while yes, I am slightly biased towards King) I think this is the best book that I've read about writing. He doesn't try to force a writing style or schedule upon you. He doesn't assume that everyone who is trying to be an author is unemployed and has all the free time in the world. He just offers several things to try, and lets the reader know what worked for him.

Also, his stories about his younger days and funny and scary at the same time. But when I think that I just can't do it anyone (work on my writing) I do tend to remember some of his anecdotes and that the fact that he could finish a novel in a hell of lot worse condition than I am. (he acknowledges in On Writing that he was so coked out, he doesn't remember writing Cujo. Any of it.)

Hello all. Haven't checked here in a while and I'm behind on King reading. Still havenâ€™t read: The Colorado Kid, Cell, Lisey's Story, Blaze, or the Dark Tower comics. I'll post my thoughts on them when I do. Right now Iâ€™m reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I want to read The Golden Compass before the movie arrives and thereâ€™s the final Harry Potter book. So donâ€™t expect my thoughts tomorrow.

CBS is right; I believe it was on 60 minutes where King mentioned his macular degeneration. This was many years ago and I havenâ€™t heard anything about it getting suddenly worse. Hopefully his peepers will be peeping for a long time.

In regards to alcohol/drugs making his writing better: not everything pre-1988 is fantastic. Ever read Christine? I almost threw it across the room when I finished it. Just the structure of the book is sloppy, like a drunk guy did it. The link between creativity and liquor/other substances has long been romanticized and misunderstood. I even read a book about creativity and bipolar people. Getting plastered and making great work doesnâ€™t necessarily equate. Obviously there could be a long discussion on this. Besides if King had died of alcohol poisoning that would have really stumped his writing.

I see Kingâ€™s post-1988 to roughly the time of the accident period as being far more experimental. Typically, experimenting by its very nature will lead to more uneven results. The good thing: it shows how King is willing to take risks and this, in my opinion, give him more vitality.

But what gets me excited is King doing some of his best work in the future. No way would I count him out. Who know what could be ahead.

Yep, Mick Garris sucks. Iâ€™m sure heâ€™s a nice fellow with all the best intentions, but heâ€™s a hack director. King and Romero tried getting cash together for Romero to do The Stand back in the 80s. My mouth waters thinking about it. But, alas, it didnâ€™t happen. I can only hope that future King/Garris projects fall through and donâ€™t happen.

On Writing is terrific. Itâ€™s very pragmatic and clear. Iâ€™d recommend it to anyone no matter their background. Itâ€™s just a plain â€˜ole good book.

I was obsessive-compulsing about King yesterday and came up with a list of his top 50 works. (51 if â€œThe Langoliersâ€

psychedelic wrote:In regards to alcohol/drugs making his writing better: not everything pre-1988 is fantastic. Ever read Christine? I almost threw it across the room when I finished it. Just the structure of the book is sloppy, like a drunk guy did it. The link between creativity and liquor/other substances has long been romanticized and misunderstood. I even read a book about creativity and bipolar people. Getting plastered and making great work doesnâ€™t necessarily equate. Obviously there could be a long discussion on this. Besides if King had died of alcohol poisoning that would have really stumped his writing.

I agree with the basic premise- although I liked Christine. Also- I sometimes have a bit of a suspicion that King likes to egxaggerate his phase of alcohol/drug abuse. I don't know- to me it always has this slightly American feel of crying AA too quickly. But maybe that's just my alcohol-soaked Eastern-European genes speaking...

But still: the majority of the 7 DT books were written sober - and many other good ones, so this is proof enough that alcohol/drugs don't enhance performance. How about this though- people often say that you have to be at least a little unhappy, or have a dark side to produce good books. D'you think that's true?

psychedelic wrote:I see Kingâ€™s post-1988 to roughly the time of the accident period as being far more experimental. Typically, experimenting by its very nature will lead to more uneven results. The good thing: it shows how King is willing to take risks and this, in my opinion, give him more vitality.

But what gets me excited is King doing some of his best work in the future. No way would I count him out. Who know what could be ahead.

Good point again. I think he's also gained in confidence that he's a real writer, and I'm curious about what's to come. That said- I just finished Lisey's Story, and somehow was a little disappointed. I just couldn't get into the Kingism that much. On the back cover it says something like "King -like Dickens- has the rare ability of supreme story-telling: which means the reader demands and must know how the story continues".

And although with most of King's books I concur- Lisey's story just didn't do that for me.

Just this section for now - not a bad selection. Although I don't think Black House should be on there -since it's a co-write (maybe that's why I didn't like it that much- being suspicious and prejudiced). Shouldn't Needful Things be on there? And maybe the Girl who loved Tom Gordon?

I think alcoholism isn't black and white. Its not always about getting hammered every night and starting fights, some people just choose to drink a beer as easily as others choose to drink water, and that kind of reliance on beer isn't a benefical arrangement.

Chilli wrote:I think alcoholism isn't black and white. Its not always about getting hammered every night and starting fights, some people just choose to drink a beer as easily as others choose to drink water, and that kind of reliance on beer isn't a benefical arrangement.

I don't think King was/is exaggerating his alcoholism. The guy doesn't even remember writing Cujo!! I think he's just a lot more comfortable talking about it (and incorporating it into his works) than most people.

How many drug & alcohol abusers have written about that in music? Too many to tell!

Psychedelic - The Long Walk is a short story, albeit a fantastic one! Frank Darabont mentioned directing that in the future... I hope it happens. If done right, it could be amazing - almost Battle Royale-esque.
The only question would be - how would he end it?

Achievement Unlocked: TOTAL DOMINATION (Win a Werewolf Game without losing a single player on your team)

How about this though- people often say that you have to be at least a little unhappy, or have a dark side to produce good books. D'you think that's true?

Anyone who is honest with themselves knows they have a dark side. No one is happy 100% all of the time. Has there been great work born of pain? Hell, yes. There's a quote from some writer saying he lost a novel every time he had an orgasm. But great work can be celebratory too. Dr. Seuss doesn't strike me as having an angst-ridden life, but in by opinion he's one of the great American authors. King's been married to the same woman for about 35 years and has had his up and downs like anyone else. But generally speaking, between a successful family and career, I think he's had a happy life. He's just more up front and comfortable with his dark side than 99.9% of the world population. There's plenty of humor in his work as well.

Although I don't think Black House should be on there -since it's a co-write (maybe that's why I didn't like it that much- being suspicious and prejudiced). Shouldn't Needful Things be on there? And maybe the Girl who loved Tom Gordon?

Needful Things is very good and a strong argument could be made for putting it on the list. The very end stinks though--this is the single way the movie was better--and for me it doesn't have the narrative punch the others do. I look forward to re-reading it some day. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is also very good, but it just comes off as too small to put up there with the best of the novels. Black House is too compulsively readable after the first 100 pages with memorable characters, set pieces, and imaginative plot for me to not include it on the list. Jack Ketchum even called it "pure gold".

I think alcoholism isn't black and white. Its not always about getting hammered every night and starting fights, some people just choose to drink a beer as easily as others choose to drink water, and that kind of reliance on beer isn't a benefical arrangement.

I agree. Alcoholism isn't black and white. I am an alcoholic. I've been sober for five years. I never got into a fight nor did I get wasted every single night. That doesn't mean I didn't have a problem. Personally speaking, I've been far more creative and happier in general in the last five years. That's not to say everything's been a walk in the roses. At times, far from it.

Psychedelic - The Long Walk is a short story, albeit a fantastic one!

In my pocket paperback edition of The Bachman Books, The Long Walk is 255 pages which certainly novel length. It was originally published as a stand alone book and in recent years has been released as a single book. But splitting semantic hairs aside, it's definitely a fantastic story.

Thanks for contributing to the discussion, folks. It's fun to talk more in depth about King's written works.

Wow... I wouldn't dish out thousands for the Trade Editions. The Haven Foundation is a nice, worthy cause and all but damn.... throw out some hardcovers!!!

And as for Grunberg's needed part... that's an interesting thought and my thoughts on his possible role:

-The farmer in the beginning (age him up a li'l).
-Sheb the piano player
-The guy in the Calla (book 5) that wore glasses and had a son that Jake played with
-Random policeman (Coppiceman)
-One of Jonas' cronies (DePape and I forget his name)

I would have said Calvin Torrent, but that role is for Kevin Spacey or Kevin Pollack.

Achievement Unlocked: TOTAL DOMINATION (Win a Werewolf Game without losing a single player on your team)

I forget, who is slated to fuck up Bag of Bones? That is an amazingly underrated book, I loved it from start to finish. Well, not so much the finish, I took issue with a major part of the climax. I always wanted the chance to adapt that one and make it right.

Fawst wrote:I forget, who is slated to fuck up Bag of Bones? That is an amazingly underrated book, I loved it from start to finish. Well, not so much the finish, I took issue with a major part of the climax. I always wanted the chance to adapt that one and make it right.

StephenKing.com wrote:Bag of BonesThe Movie

Film rights for Bag of Bones have been optioned. MGM will be distributing this as a theater release. Bruce Willis is the Producer.

The Todd wrote:I'll have to go back and reread it to refresh my memory, but I remember liking it up until the end. I don't remember what about the ending that turned me off though.....

SPOILER

Was it the fact that the old bastard committed suicide so that he could become a ghost and wreak havoc? Cuz that's what killed it for me. It was NOT a happy story, even the very end was filled with a little "uh oh, our boy could lose the girl after all he's been through..." kind of despair.

The Todd wrote:I'll have to go back and reread it to refresh my memory, but I remember liking it up until the end. I don't remember what about the ending that turned me off though.....

SPOILER

Was it the fact that the old bastard committed suicide so that he could become a ghost and wreak havoc? Cuz that's what killed it for me. It was NOT a happy story, even the very end was filled with a little "uh oh, our boy could lose the girl after all he's been through..." kind of despair.